Natural Phenomenon
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South Seas Companion
Natural Phenomenon
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Snowy SheathbillChionis alba |
| The Snowy Sheathbill is to be found on the subantartic islands, although despite having small wings it is commonly encountered far out to sea in the high southern latitudes. |
Details |
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Snowy Sheathbills grow to a body length of around 40 centimetres and to a wing span of about 80 centimetres. They are easily recognizable by their relatively small wings and all white plumage. The bird is a scavenger that lives mostly by stealing food from nesting birds, although they also hunt for small fish and squid at sea. They breed yearly in the southern summer months, raising one or two chicks. |
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Published by South Seas, 1 February 2004 Comments, questions, corrections and additions: Paul.Turnbull@jcu.edu.au Prepared by: Paul Turnbull Updated: 28 June 2004 To cite this page use: http://nla.gov.au/nla.cs-ss-biogs-P000394 |